In late December of last year, Lucas Hunter, who enjoys kite surfing, organized a trip to Colombia with his sister Sophie to take advantage of the "good waves" in the country's north.

Sophie was unable to accompany him due to a sickness, so Lucas took the two-and-a-half-week holiday by himself.

After he was arrested near the Venezuelan border, Sophie hasn't seen or spoken to him in over two months.

According to Sophie, her brother, a London-based American, had traveled to that region of Colombia "because that's where they are kite surfing competitions."

She told CNN she was "in constant communication with him" and that "it's quite remote, so you have to basically get a motorbike to go to the different spots."

Lucas told Sophie that he saw a checkpoint in the distance on January 7, 2025, in a lonely location near the border, and he reversed. However, it was too late. She told CNN how he said he "got kidnapped, abducted by Venezuelan military forces … who took him across the border."

"I'm sending you this pin location from where I'm detained," Sophie recalled him saying. "It's been four hours," he told me. I have no idea what's happening. I'm not fluent in Spanish. However, they are claiming in their reports that I didn't intend to cross.

On the ninth, he texted me again, saying, "They're writing a report saying that I had no intention of entering Venezuela." It seems fine to me. "I'll be out shortly," she said.

Sophie didn't hear from him again after that.

She has no idea where he is being detained, she told CNN last week. He hasn't been tried for any alleged offenses. The Ministry of Communications in Venezuela has been contacted by CNN. The Attorney General's Office of Venezuela chose not to respond.

When asked if she thinks Lucas was arrested because he is an American citizen, Sophie pointed out that he was in possession of his US passport at the time of his arrest.

She stated, "I do believe that having a passport is pretty good on the shopping list." Lucas is a citizen of France as well.

American citizens have previously been detained by Venezuela as alleged negotiating leverage. Several Americans who had been illegally detained in Venezuela, some for years, were brought home by the US through prisoner swaps made under the Biden administration.

Six Americans who were arrested in Caracas were freed when US Special Envoy Ric Grenell met with strongman leader Nicolas Maduro there in late January.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio declared last week that nine Americans were being held in Venezuela without cause. Sophie claims that one of the nine is her brother.

Sophie said she had been employed by the U.S. Embassy in Bogota before his nomination. The office of the US Presidential Envoy for Hostage Affairs will now handle his case as it has been determined that his detention was unlawful. The designation gives the United States government additional leverage to attempt to negotiate his release. Additionally, it gives families of those who have been unfairly incarcerated access to resources.

When the six were brought home in late January, Sophie expressed her disappointment that Lucas was not one of them. She hopes that he will be freed soon, though.

According to a State Department official, "it is unacceptable that the regime has arrested and jailed Americans under dubious circumstances and without respect for their rights." "All Americans who have been wrongfully imprisoned by the Maduro regime must be released right away."

The spokeswoman stated, "The United States is still working to ensure the release of any Americans who have been wrongfully imprisoned by the Venezuelan regime."

Due to "crime, kidnapping, and risk of detention when crossing into Venezuela from Colombia," the United States advises Americans against visiting the Colombia-Venezuela border region.

Sophie stated, "I believe it should be a huge campaign, especially to university students or people my age who might want to travel the world and just say, do not take the risk."